CSW64 is Canceled, but not Entirely
Written by Grace Kellett and Tamara Starr
It is with great sadness that we inform you that due to the very real threat of the coronavirus, the 64th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW64) was effectively cancelled for all participants. However, CSW is still organizing a series of events to commemorate the 25th anniversary of The Fourth World Conference on Women that took place in Beijing.
Here is a timeline that explains the reasons behind the cancellation, and the series of events that will take place in 2020 as we move forward:
On February 28, the UN Secretary General issued a letter recommending that the 64th annual session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women be scaled back due to concerns regarding the coronavirus. Read the full letter here.
Based upon that recommendation, the Chair of the CSW sent a letter to the Permanent Missions announcing that a briefing would be held on Monday, March 2, to discuss these recommendations. Read the full letter here.
On March 2, the CSW bureau held a briefing for the member states of the Commission and NGOs at the UN to discuss the recommendation sent out by the UN Secretary General's office that CSW64 be scaled down and shortened this year, in light of the global coronavirus emergency. Upon a three hour discussion during which time member states gave their opinions and recommendations, it was decided that CSW64 would be scaled down even further to only include one official meeting related to all procedural matters (adopting the political declaration and other agreed upon resolutions) to be held on Monday, March 9. This was agreed upon contingent on the understanding that efforts would be made to integrate dialogue portions that make up CSW.
See the letter from the Chair here.
Read UN Women’s announcement here.
Watch a video message from the Chair here:
In response to the decisions made by the Chair and UN Women, NGO CSW NY decided to cancel the CSW64 Forum, including Consultation Day, the Reception and all parallel events.
See the full announcement from NGO CSW NY here.
Moving Forward
Since March 2, plans have been made to ensure dialogue regarding the 25th Anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing.
Virtual CSW64 Forum Consultation Day - March 16
NGO CSW NY is holding the CSW64 Forum Consultation Day virtually on March 16. You can register here for free.
See the full Consultation Day program.
Virtual Parallel Events
NGO CSW NY has announced that while they are unable to arrange virtual parallel events, they are encouraging NGOs who were planning on holding a parallel event to hold it virtually. You can find information on any planned virtual parallel events on NGO CSW NY’s social media channels.
WFWPI and WPPI plan to hold our parallel event virtually. Time is TBD.
Multi-Stakeholder Hearing and High-level meeting on the 25th Anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women - July 21 and September 23
It has been decided that Beijing +25 discussions will take place as a Multi-Stakeholder Hearing on July 21 and High-Level Meeting on September 23 as part of the UN General Assembly events.
From the announcement:
2020 marks the commemoration of Beijing+25: 25 years since the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action of 1995. To commemorate its 25th anniversary, the Multi-Stakeholder Hearing & High-Level Meeting will be held at the UN Headquarters. For representatives of civil society organizations or the private sector that are not in consultative status with ECOSOC, it is required that you register for “Special-Accreditation” to participate in this event!
Apply here by March 16, 2020.